Built or Build it yourself?

[BlkVnm512]

I meet people from time to time who have cars that they bought that are pretty much built with not much else to change. Ex: I met a guy with a 2003 with a Whipple making about 600, custom paint, built tranny/rear,etc.. and all he can do is fix it as it was purchased knowing it wasn't 100% health. Pretty cool guy, nothing wrong with him except he is learning to drive it as he has never owned a manual and he's on 305 street tires.

But i know when i was looking for mine i had about a 21k budget and I could've bought a pullied Cobra, but I opted for a completely stock one. The man i purchased it from was an older guy and never didnt anything to it except add a stereo and 2 12's.

I am just more for the idea that it's better to build it along the way, and appreciate it because you know that it's your plan every step of the way.

Which do you prefer?

 

[05satinGT]

IMO I always like to buy it stock and watch it take form, the only downfall is, that is the expensive way out. That's when modded cars start to look appealing. A KB or Whipple can run some serious money with supporting mods, tune, ect. so it seems that buying one with it on already is the way to go. Then again you won't know the history of the car either. Sadly this topic is a mixed bag. I guess it depends on how much you have to spend on mods and what your plans are. If you want to do subtle things like exhaust tune ect buy one stock. Like I said I always like buying stock, but that's sometimes i second guess myself lol

 

[sunburned]

Bought my first mustang, built it up myself, loved every minute of it and never had a problem with the car. It was fun getting to work on it all myself and met lots of great people in the process who helped with the build.

Bought a Cobra that was completely built: engine, suspension, drivetrain, literally everything. Within 2 months, the fuel system pretty much failed. After 2 more months, the engine blew up on my drive to work. Spent a fortune rebuilding the engine in a car that I had already paid for a built engine. I completely regret buying the car at all.


All in all, a pullied cobra isn't bad, but when you buy a fully modded car, you're more or less buying someone elses problems.

 

[trickflow coupe]

i bought my cobra bone stock and i plan i doing all the mods myself but thats just me

 

[THE_STIG]

When I bought my car, it had suspension work done to it, but I've done everything else since then.

 

[oldmodman]

All in all, when you buy a fully modded car, you're more or less buying someone elses problems.

Absolutely correct! And that is why I also agree with the next quote.

i bought my cobra bone stock and i plan i doing all the mods myself but thats just me

I really enjoy working on cars. Each tweek makes it more "my car", and not just another same-o, same-o.

 

[BlkVnm512]

I agree that its a "half empty half full" topic. i mean sometimes people just want it ready to go, but others enjoy the work. i know i love to work on mine. i mean even if i can't afford to buy new parts or something, ill clean the engine bay, polish the rims, clean underneath the car, etc...

i mean, i wish i could buy a KB Cobra making 800 or TT Tobra making 1000 to the ground, but i wanta build it up over time and enjoy it until im ready to get a new toy.

 

[Sonic605hp]

I have VERY good luck buying modded.....if you're buying from a good seller and the car is done right you can't go wrong.

 

[sunburned]

I have VERY good luck buying modded.....if you're buying from a good seller and the car is done right you can't go wrong.

Unless the motor is stock or you want to tear apart the built motor they have, you really have no clue what you are buying.

I bought my cobra from a very reputable dealership and built by what seemed to be a good shop. Only problem was the company that did the head work decided to machine the inside diameter of the valvesprings to fit in the heads, which is generally frowed upon with any sort of spring. I didn't know about it until I had 8 broken valvesprings, leading to a broken camshaft, ruined cylinder head and a big hole in one of my pistons. The engine in that Cobra probably had $15k in parts and labor in it, but one dumb shop ruined it all. Never saw a dime from them either.

:cuss:

 

[STAMPEDE3]

Money wise you will always be cheaper buying built rather than building. But as said you will tend to have more issues.

When it comes to street cars I'd rather a mild modded one to save $$ on somethings I would do anyway.

When it comes to race cars I'd buy built or at least 90% finished any day of the week if I don't FEEL LIKE doing it myself. It saves a ton on something that may break the first time out even if you did build it yourself.

If I'm in the mood to build and have the time then I'd build it.
I've done it both ways over the years.

 

[vettez062002]

ive done it both ways. to me, its all about "the deal" rather then trying to buy something already built.

both corvettes I purchased bone stock and did the mods myself.
7 years ago, I bought a 2000 Camaro SS with a 408, M6, 12 bolt, ect ect ect and it lasted 3 months then blew up.. turns out a moron built the motor and I spent a TON of money fixing it...

pros about buying it built
it is done when you hand the seller the cash
there is no down time waiting for parts
money savings, buying something modded can def save you a ton of money esp a kenne bell, tt kit or built motor.

cons..
you dont know who built it, how the built it. did someone put the TLC you would do? if it will last ect.
you dont have the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

 

[Coiled03]

Totally depends on the car, and your situation in life.

If you know the car well, know who did the mods, and you're comfortable with the "history", and if you don't have the time or inclination to do it yourself, then I'd say buy built.

Aside from that, start stock, and build it with your own two hands. It's much more satisfying to see how it turns out when you do it yourself.

 

[thomas91169]

depends.

When i was looking at 03/04's, most the time the price difference between stock and a simple pulley swap/tune/bolton car was negligible, so it was beneficial to just get the pulley'd one already. Plus it was better for me since that was my goal anyways since it was to be daily driven.

Now as for extensive mods that are more than mere boltons, id rather do it myself. More chance of ****ing something up and id like to be the only one to blame. Also the more mods a car has, the more chances of one of them (or all of them) being half assed/hacked/ghetto by the previous owner. Seen more than my fair share of this which is why on buying any modded car you really need to get a feel for the owners ability and attention to detail.

 

[!!!PainTrain!!!]

For me, it would depend on how well I knew the previous owner/owners.

 

[harry gilbert]

One deciding factor is the cost of the specialty tools needed to do the build-up. There are some mods I'd rather buy already done, or take to a specialty garage to have them done, because the cost of the tooling can be spread over many jobs. For other mods, the cost of the tooling is negligible.

 

[sikryd]

I never want to own someone else's hot rod! I always build my own...

 

[JustaGT]

I bought this car mostly stock, and couldn't be happier with it. Granted it is the expensive route and as much as I would love to have a whipple car I just can't afford it yet.

But at the same time I can completely understand people that do buy modded. There are a lot of nice cars that go up for sale that are already modded. If you look you can find those cars that people took extreme pride in and just because they are heavily modded doesn't mean they have been beaten on any more than a stock car. Plus you also always risk the chance of buying a car that was modded and returned to stock which IMO is worse than buying a modded car.

 

[HEMIHUNTER]

I would buy slightly modded [ bolt ons ] but beyond that no way.

 

[black 10th vert]

Honestly, aside from the good points already mentioned, you have to decide based on a few other factors, inmo.
a) do you have a garage to work on it, or will you be sending it out to a performance shop? This can be a difference in many thousands of dollars.

b) do you have decent mechanical abilities, or will you need to send it out (see "a")?

c) do you have a decent amount of tools? If you don't that is not a deal breaker, but will add to the cost of doing mods yourself.

In the end, it really is very specific to what you want from the car, and if the modded one already has things that you plan to do anyway. Obviously, the quality of the install is always a wildcard - even if it was done by a "professional" shop! Sometimes, depending on the owner, you can end up with a higher quality of workmanship with a home install, as most times the owner will take more pride, and have more attention to detail because they are not concerned about the time factor as much as a shop who quoted a certain amount to do a job.

 

[HYBRED]

Build it, sell it, build another one. It's not a destination, it's a journey.